The Money You’re Wasting in Your Kitchen

How much money are you throwing away every week? This week I did a segment on Deborah Duncan’s popular show Great Day Houston talking about how to reuse things in the kitchen. (We also talked about a upcoming Goodtaste Girls’ Night Out event at Tootsies…more on the latter in a minute in case you’d like to come.) While doing a little research on the show topic, I came across an interesting article in ‘Taste’ (the Culinary Institute of America’s magazine) about how we waste money in the kitchen. This info is too good not to pass on.

I don’t know about you, but I often go through my refrigerator and toss fruits and veggies that have gone bad. Turns out, on average, most of us toss more than $600 a year worth of produce for that reason. There are some guidelines you can follow to get the most from your produce. If nothing else, it might save you from those last minute dashes to the grocery store when you have no veggies that are edible for dinner . Here’s the lowdown…

Some fruits emit ethylene which is an odorless, colorless gas that speeds ripening and can lead to the premature decay of sensitive veggies. If you put spinach or kale in the same bin as peaches or apples, the greens will turn yellow and limp in just a couple of days. Separate your produce —here are the recommendations.

Also, don’t seal your fruits and veggies in plastic bags. Keep them loosely open…veggies need to breathe. And, never refrigerate potatoes, onions, winter squash or garlic. They can last up to a month out of the fridge.

Lastly, get produce home from the grocery store and into the fridge as soon as possible. And, shop farmers’ markets early in the morning. Just harvested greens will wilt quickly in the sun.

The Houston Firefighters calendar models will be there taking orders for their upcoming 2013 calendar, trendy Katsuya in West Ave. will be providing the food, and we’ll also feature wine and martinis. And since we’ll be at Tootsies, the shopping will be the best! I’ve got more info here…A portion of the proceeds benefits the Houston Firefighter Burned and Crippled Children’s Fund.